Pitt Freshman QB Breaks Down Offensive Struggles vs. No. 12 Miami

PITTSBURGH — Pitt Panthers true freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel played in his final game at Acrisure Stadium this weekend. What the Panthers hoped would be a potential ACC Championship game-clinching outcome was the exact opposite.

Pitt's offense struggled again by getting behind the sticks, failing to convert on third downs, taking too many sacks and committing too many penalties.

Heintschel was sacked four times, which now makes it 14 sacks he has taken in the last three weeks. The offense went 4-for-13 on third down, moving Pitt to 122nd in the nation in the category, and committed nine penalties for 88 yards, four of which belong to the offense for a total of 30 yards.

"They're a great team, and they did a lot of good things to game plan and stop us," Heintschel said of the Hurricanes. "But I also think we just hurt ourselves a lot, too. We had a lot of penalties. We were just not executing, and I took too many sacks."

This all happened a week after pulling off the road upset over No. 16 Georgia Tech, which saw the Panthers' offense score 28 unanswered points by the 10-minute mark of the second quarter.

Déjà vu

"They're just a talented football team and there's a reason why they've got a shot to go compete in the ACC title," Heintschel said. "I think we could have been there, too. We just didn't play very well today and we just made too many mistakes. It's games like this where you've gotta be really detailed with everything you do and play up to a higher standard. We just didn't do that."

This game was strikingly similar to the 37-15 loss to No. 9 Notre Dame two weeks ago, when the Panthers went 0-for-13 on third down, Heintschel was sacked four times and the offense scored just one touchdown, which came on the very last play of the game.

Like after the loss to Notre Dame, Heintschel blamed himself for the offense's poor performance. This time, though, he was focused on particular area of his game.

"I think the biggest thing for me is just trying to process and understand what defenses are throwing at us and just know where my answers are," Heintschel said. "Just be quick getting rid of the football. There are times when I try to hold on to it too much, and those are the reasons why I take too many sacks."

Nov 29, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Mason Heintschel (6) passes against the Miami Hurricanes during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Heintschel is among the most-sacked quarterbacks in the country and is the most-sacked quarterback to play in fewer than 10 games this season. However, of quarterbacks to play at least 50% of his team's snaps, Heintschel has the 19th-best average time in the pocket per drop back at 3.05 seconds, according to Pro Football Focus.

Heintschel's sacks have killed drives and have pushed the offense behind the sticks too many times. One of his sacks against Miami came on third down and the other three all placed the offense behind the original line of scrimmage.

"Coach [Kade] Bell and I talked about that all week, just how talented they are up front and how we have to get rid of the ball fast," Heintschel said. "I think the first two drives, where we kind of went negative both drives, that was on me, holding onto the ball too much."

But as with every quarterback to ever start as a true freshman, there are lessons to be learned with every rep.

"I think taking those hits kind of flipped the switch of 'Hey, let's get the ball faster,'" Heintschel said. "And on that third drive, we were able to score."

Looking Ahead

The loss means that Pitt's final game of the 2025 season will be a bowl game that has yet to be announced. Heintschel will have a few weeks to hone in on his recent mistakes and ensure that the Panthers end the season strong.

"We're moving on. Wish we could be playing for a championship, but we didn't do what we needed to do to get that done," Heintschel said. We just got to get back to what we've been doing and keep putting in more work to be better and attack the bowl game."

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